Analyzing the Indiana Pacers’ depth chart post-free agency

The Point Guards

Point Guard: Malcolm Brogdon, Aaron Holiday, T.J. McConnell

The Pacers finally have their foundation set at the point guard position with 26-year-old Malcolm Brogdon and 22-year-old Aaron Holiday. The last time Indiana had any sort of long term point guard was George Hill, who played five seasons with the blue and gold. The problem was they did not have stability at the backup position back then. Now, Indiana has two point guards who are young and have potential to be special for a long time.

Newly acquired Brogdon is a unique player because he is not your typical point guard. He is not known for his ball-handling or his passing, but rather known for his scoring and shot-creating. He is a combo guard who can play multiple positions and does just about everything correctly. His best trait is his shooting efficiency and aggressiveness. Last season, he shot 51 percent from the field, 43 percent from deep, and a league-leading 93 percent from the charity stripe.

Last season, the Pacers’ guards would be too hesitant at times to shoot the ball, and that is the complete opposite of Brogdon. He will drive and force contact at the rim and not hesitate to shoot. He also flourishes in transition because of his aggressiveness along with his success in spot-up situations. He shot 52.2 percent in spot-up situations last season.

He also has the tools to be one of the better defensive point guards with his 6-foot-11 wingspan.

Concerning the backup point guard, it is yet to be known whether or not T.J. McConnell or Holiday will take that role. It would make the most sense to have McConnell used for depth and in the role of a leader, have Holiday develop into the all-star the Pacers think he can be, and finally, play alongside his older brother, Justin, off of the bench.

The concern will be if Brogdon can stay healthy as he missed 52 games the last two seasons to injury, which is a significant reason the Pacers signed McConnell. Another area which will be interesting to watch is how he will perform as a pick and roll ball-handler. It is a part of his game he will need to improve on immensely coming into Nate McMillan‘s system with two bigs in the lineup. His usage was 19 percent in the pick and roll, largely in part to being able to find his shot on his own. He also shot 40.9 percent as a pick and roll ball-handler.

With Aaron, the goal is for him to develop into a consistent scorer and grow into the leader of the bench unit. With that being said, the point guard position should be much improved over last season, allowing the offense to run much smoother.